Any Pennsylvania township, borough, city, or town may establish an environmental advisory council (EAC) to tap the skills and volunteer energy of its citizens. Consisting of three to seven members appointed by the local government, the tasks undertaken by an EAC are determined by the particular needs of the municipality. An EAC may research issues and advise local government officials to help inform decision-making regarding the environment. It may also undertake an array of on-the-ground conservation projects, planning of new conservation initiatives, and environmental education efforts.

Municipalities can form an EAC; state law does not require it. Those interested in seeing one established, whether municipal officials or residents, must propose to establish it. Tarentum Borough has officially enacted an EAC.

An environmental advisory council may serve its municipality and its governing body in many different ways, and its role in the municipality may change over time as the municipality’s needs and priorities change. An EAC’s potential mix of activities is authorized and limited by Pennsylvania’s Act 148 of 1973 (amended in 1996 as P.L. 1158, No. 177), which states that EACs “shall have the power to:

1. Identify environmental problems and recommend plans and programs to the appropriate agencies for the promotion and conservation of the natural resources and for the protection and improvement of the quality of the environment within its territorial limits.
2. Make recommendations as to the possible use of open land areas of the municipal corporations within its territorial limits.
3. Promote a community environmental program.
4. Keep an index of all open areas, publicly or privately owned, including flood-prone areas, swamps and other unique natural areas, for the purpose of obtaining information on the proper use of those areas.
5. Advise the appropriate local government agencies, including the planning commission and recreation and park board or, if none, the elected governing body or bodies within its territorial limits, in the acquisition of both real and personal property [by a variety of means for environmental purposes].”

(Title 53 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statues, Part III, Subpart D, Chapter 23, Subchapter B Environmental Advisory Councils §2324 (a))

• Open space protection
• Greenway and trail development
• Dedicated open space bond or earned income tax referendum
• Environmental resource inventories
• Site plan reviews
• Conservation ordinances
• Rivers conservation plans
• Riparian buffer plantings
• Stream cleanups
• Water quality monitoring
• Air quality monitoring
• Brownfield remediation
• Community Supported Agriculture
• Recycling
• Green purchasing
• Green buildings
• Sustainable parks
• Alternative energy
• Stormwater management plans and ordinances
• Habitat conservation and restoration
• Energy audits
• Addressing climate change
• Invasive species removal
• Public education on any of the above topics

• An environmental advisory council does not make land use and other regulatory decisions. They may only advise on regulatory matters.
• EACs do not take the place of nor should they compete with planning commissions or park and recreation boards; rather they can closely work with them and constructively augment their efforts.
  • EACs are not independent environmental advocacy groups. They are part of the local government and generally will be most effective when they maintain positive and productive working relationships with other municipal officials.